A French lawyer lost his appeal today against the national
rule as the European Court of Human Rights found the requirement
doesn’t infringe lawyer-client confidentiality.

The requirement was adopted in 2007 to ensure French
lawyers comply with European Union anti-money laundering
directives. The rule has safeguards such as requiring the report
to be filed to a bar association and restricting the obligation
to certain services, including property transactions.

The rule doesn’t “represent a disproportionate
interference with lawyers’ professional privilege,” the
Strasbourg, France-based court found, according to a statement
on the decision.